Heartbeats
by YourArtMatters23
Summary: Haley and her friends thought this was going to be their summer: Haley, Peyton and Lucas would be working at the "summer school camp" Brooke had to attend. But they didn't expect Nathan Scott, Lucas' half brother and sworm enemy to attend the same camp... And that was only the beginning of the emotional rollercoaster ride... Mainly Naley; other pairings: Leyton & Brulian
1. Chapter 1

**Heartbeats**

by YourArtMatters23

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill. The title is based on the song by José González.

 **AN: This is my first fanfiction, so I always appreciate criticism and am happy about reviews. I'm not a native english speaker and therefore I am looking for a beta reader. Please send me a PM if you are interested.  
I hope you enjoy the first chapter :)**

Chapter 1

Haley had been sitting in front of her laptop for the last two hours, but she couldn't find a summer job and she was slowly losing hope that she would find one at all.

In the beginning, she had been looking for a job in a café or restaurant since that was the only job she had any experience in, but as more and more time went by, she had been considering just about anything.

She wished Karen, her best friend Lucas's mum, wouldn't close her café for the summer so that Haley could just work in her café like the rest of the year. But Karen was going to Italy for a cooking school she had wanted to attend forever and Haley was very happy for her.

After another hour of surfing through the internet, Haley slammed her Laptop shut and groaned loudly, just as her door was opening.

"Wow, what has the laptop done to deserve that," Lucas asked laughing and went over to give Haley a hug.

Lucas and Haley had been best friends for eight years and spend a lot of time together. Since Haley was the youngest of six children, she used to spend as much time as possible at Karen's because she thought that they needed her more than her own family did, because there were only the two of them.

"Ugh, don't ask," Haley groaned and put her head in her hands.

"Still haven't found a job for the summer?" Lucas asked concerned. He knew how important it was for Haley to find a job to save up for college, since her parents couldn't afford the tuition for all of their six children.

Haley shook her head and looked defeated.

"Alright, stop. Moping is not going to get you a job," Lucas said, earning an eye roll from Haley but he just kept going. "We are going to the Rivercourt and ask the guys if they have an idea who might be hiring."

"That's actually a good idea!" Haley said, pretending to be surprised. "Well, I guess there's a first time for everything," she added smirking and pulled Lucas out the door.

"How is it possible that not a single person is looking to hire someone? I mean, I know, Tree Hill is not exactly New York, but this is just crazy!" Haley said, turning around to talk to Brooke and Peyton, while Mrs. Hudson, their English teacher, was giving out some papers.

Brooke and Peyton had known each other for as long as Haley and Lucas had known each other, but Haley had just gotten to know them in the past year. Even though their friendship was quite new and the three of them were completely different characters, they had gotten really close.

"Have you asked the guys? They always know what's going on around here. Maybe they have an idea," Brooke suggested, trying to be a little optimistic.

"Luke and I talked to them last night, but no luck," Haley answered.

"I'm sure you'll find something, you're Haley James!" Peyton added and and pinched her playfully, trying to get a smile out of Haley.

Haley knew they were trying to cheer her up so she attempted a smile, which unfortunately turned out to be more like a grimace.

"Haley, do you have a minute?" Mrs. Hudson asked after the lesson.

"Sure," Haley answered with a fake smile. She really liked Mrs. Hudson and usually didn't mind talking to her, but she wasn't in the mood for talking today.

Hoping this wouldn't take too long so she could join her friends for lunch, Haley walked over to her teacher.

"I couldn't help but overhear you talking to Brooke and Peyton during the lesson," Mrs. Hudson started and Haley's mood dropped even further.

She couldn't believe that Mrs. Hudson was about to give her a lecture about talking during class when she had much bigger problems.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, we won't talk again during the lesson," Haley apologised, hoping this would cut the conversation short and she could go eat the brownie she had packed for lunch. The Brownie had been her silver lining all day.

"Oh no, that's not what I meant," Mrs. Hudson smiled at her and Haley's confusion was written all over her face.

"Is it true, that you are looking for a summer job?" she continued and Haley nodded, trying to hide her growing confusion.

"Oh that's great! I might just have the perfect job for you," Mrs Hudson said as excited as Haley felt.

"Are you serious? That's great! What kind of job is it?"

"It's a tutoring job in a summer school that is also a camp! The camp is brand new and is trying to create a nice environment for kids, who have to attend summer school. They were planning on opening it next year, but there is a very high demand already, so they decided to open this year. Are you interested? And do you happen to know someone else who might be willing to work in the camp?"

Haley couldn't contain her joy anymore. She started jumping up and down and she had to use all her self-control not to hug her teacher.

Instead she thanked her over and over again and assured her, that she would ask everyone she knew.

Mrs. Hudson laughed at Haley's excitement and promised to email her the details immediately.

Haley practically ran into the cafeteria and started looking for her friends. She went over to them and immediately told them the good news.

"Oh. My. God!" Brooke exclaimed when Haley said "summer school camp".

"You can't be serious! I didn't want to tell you because I was ashamed but I have to go there to study this summer! I'm failing math...and chemistry… but this is awesome! Tutor girl, you will be there doing what you do best, and P. Sawyer, you are so going to apply for a job there, too, and then this summer will be awesome! And Luke, you have to apply there, too, of course! The three of us can share a cabin, sorry Luke, and we'll have sleepovers every night and ..."

"Brooke, hold on" Haley laughed! "I thought I was excited about this..."

"And, well, I hate to break it to you, but what kind of job could I possibly apply for, Brooke? It's not like I have ever tutored anyone, or even wanted to, for that matter..." Peyton chipped in.

"Yeah, the same goes for me," Lucas agreed.

"Well Mr. and Mrs. pessimistic, we'll figure something out, we always do! This is going to be the best summer ever!" Brooke announced while Peyton and Lucas blushed at Brookes choice of words.

Before anyone could mention another concern Brooke had left the cafeteria, surely already planning their summer.

The next day, Haley, Peyton and Lucas had already applied for jobs in the camp. They had spent the last afternoon reviewing all the information Mrs. Hudson had sent Haley and everyone had found a job that suited them… more or less.

Haley applied for the tutoring job for her own age group, so that she would be tutoring Brooke. Haley's grades had been nearly perfect this year and everything she had learned was still fresh in her mind, so she didn't have to prepare all that much.

She was really confident she would get the job. With the recommendation Mrs. Hudson had promised to send in and her experience as a tutor at her school, she was sure everything would work out.

She was a little worried about Lucas and Peyton's applications, though. Neither Lucas nor Peyton had ever tutored anyone in their life. The only job where they could meet the requirements was supervising some of the younger kids. Peyton wasn't happy about that at all. She had wanted to spend her summer looking for new music, renovating her room and drawing all day long, but Brooke could be very convincing, and sometimes even scary, so Peyton had agreed.

"Do you think you have to wait for a long time to hear back from them?" Brooke asked when they were having lunch the next day.

"Well, we only sent the applications last night. But they shouldn't take too long since the camp is supposed to open in two weeks and Mrs. Hudson told me they are really desperate by now," Haley said.

Just then, Haley's phone vibrated, announcing the income of an email. Ever since she had sent the application yesterday she nearly jumped out of her skin every time she got an email.

"Guys, I got the job! Check your Mails!" Haley nearly shouted at them.

Lucas and Peyton got out there phones but before Peyton could check her emails, Brooke had snatched the phone from her and squealed with delight after reading the Mail.

"I'm in, too," Lucas said laughing at Brookes outburst.

"Summer camp, here we come!" Brooke said with a big smile on her face.

"Brooke, we are going to summer school and not to a fashion show," Haley laughed when she entered Brookes room the day before they were leaving for camp. The floor was covered in clothes and shoes, two suitcases that appeared to be full already, were standing in the hallway and two more suitcases were lying on the bed, waiting to join the other two in the hallway.

"You have no idea," Peyton said while getting up to give Haley a hug. "Thank god you're here now. She is going crazy. I tried to stop her but when I touched one of her shirts, she scratched me," Peyton said, showing Haley a rash Brooke had given her.

"You and you," Brooke said pointing to each of them, "on the bed and don't touch ANYTHING!" Peyton and Haley looked at each other and decided it would be best to follow Brooke's instructions.

Brooke kept on running from her closet to her suitcases and back and packed and unpacked what looked like about a thousand items, while Peyton and Haley sat on her bed.

"I really don't know if I can do this, Haley. I mean, I don't even particularly like children and now I have to look after them for the whole summer? They probably cry all the time because they are homesick and complain because they have to learn and won't listen to me when I tell them to tidy up…" Peyton said lying back on Brooke's bed and covering her face with a pillow.

"You'll be fine," Haley said, pulling away the pillow. "Remember, you won't do that by yourself. Every group gets two supervisors and I'm sure your group will be fine and your partner will be nice and … you'll be fine!"

"You already said that, genius," Peyton laughed.

"Guys, I have NOTHING to wear," Brooke exclaimed an hour later.

Peyton and Haley exchanged a look and burst out laughing.

"Aright," Haley said after she had calmed down. "Brooke, go sit on the bed, Peyton, come with me," Haley said, getting up and walking towards the hallway, with Peyton following close behind. They dragged the heavy suitcases back into Brooke's room, opened them and dumped everything back on the floor. They ignored Brooke's protest while sorting through the clothes, making two piles.

"All the clothes that are inappropriate for camp go on pile here," Haley explained, pointing to her left, "and all the other clothes go here."

Much to Haley's surprise, Brooke didn't complain but stayed on her bed, moping.

After about twenty minutes Haley and Peyton had finished going through all the clothes. On the left side, there was a huge pile with the inappropriate items of clothes and a much smaller pile on the other side of the room.

A few fights later, Brooke had one suitcase packed with everything she needed for camp and Haley and Peyton lay on the floor, completely exhausted.

"Thank god we have already packed our own suitcases," Haley told Peyton.

"Yes, oh and Brooke, you so owe us," Peyton agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so muchfor the reviews! I thought I would post the second Chapter today already and from now on I plan obupdatingonce a week. I hope you like this chapter :)**

After a four-hour bus ride the friends finally arrived at the camp. Peyton's dad had driven them to the station, where a bus took them to directly to the camp.

"Wow," Haley said when she got off the bus. "This is amazing!"

The camp was located in the woods and from the parking lot you could look directly at the beautiful lake the camp was built around. Haley could see lots of cabins that were built in between the trees and was immediately in love with the camp.

Just as everyone was getting off the bus, another two busses arrived and a woman and a man walked onto the parking lot.

When everyone had gathered in front of the entrance, one of the men said: "Welcome to camp … Well, we don't have an official name yet."

"What he meant to say was: We are really happy that you are all here", the woman interrupted.

"My name is Mara and this is my husband David. As you know, the Students are arriving in three days. This gives you time to adjust, unpack and to make yourself familiar with the camp. You have to know the camp like the back of your hands because you will  
be in charge.

There is a notice-board to your right, where you will find a list with the rooming assignments and a map to find your cabins. So without further ado, please get your bags, find your cabins and settle in. We will meet in the main hall for lunch at two  
pm."

Everyone did as they were told and Peyton and Haley were delighted when they found out that they were rooming together. They had asked for it on their application, but they had never gotten a response to their question.

Lucas would be rooming with a guy named Julian and went to find his cabin and said he would meet the girls later in the main hall.

"Guys, I can't find my name anywhere," Brooke said. "I will ask Mara", Brooke said and went to ask her.

Since the Students would be arriving three days later than the tutors and supervisors, Brooke had asked if it was possible that she would come early with Haley and Peyton and they agreed to make an exception.

A few minutes later Brooke came back.

"Mara said that the tutors and supervisors are rooming together and the Students were sharing cabins among themselves. But she said if it is okay with you two we can put another bed in your cabin and room together! But it might be a little crowded  
with a third bed and if you don't want…"

"Brooke!" Peyton interrupted, "Stop it! Of course you're rooming with us! What has gotten into you? You are so… shy all of a sudden," Peyton laughed and Haley nodded.

Brooke was really relieved that she wouldn't have to share a cabin with strangers, especially since the Students had to share cabins in groups of 4.

After twenty minutes of running through the woods they finally reached their cabin, number 22.

"Finally," Haley exclaimed and let herself drop onto one of the beds. There were only two, but David had promised to bring another one in the afternoon.

"Remind me to never let Brooke handle anything that's got to do with directions ever again," Peyton said, sitting down next to Haley.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Brooke defended herself. "All the trees look the same," she added and dropped her bag on the ground.

The cabin was quite big and could easily fit a third bed. You could see that it was brand new and that it had been decorated with much thought and care.

It was one big room, with two beds next to each other, separated only by the two nightstands. The girls had already agreed on fitting the third bed next to the other two, so that they were all sleeping next to each other. On the left side of the room  
were two big windows and opposite the beds were two big drawers that could probably fit Haley's entire wardrobe twice. But considering Brooke's massive suitcase, Haley was probably going to share one with Peyton and Brooke would take the second drawer.

On the right side of the room was a door that led to a little bathroom with a shower, a toilet and a sink.

"I'm so happy we have our own bathroom," Brooke exclaimed when she saw it.

"The Students have to go to the washhouse and I'm not sure I would have survived that," Brooke continued while Peyton and Haley were already putting away all their clothes into one of the drawers.

"We have two hours before we have to go to the meeting in the main hall. What do you guys want do to until then?" Haley asked when she had finished unpacking.

"How about we explore the camp and look for Luke?" Brooke suggested.

The girls agreed and started walking back to the entrance to find out, where Lucas's cabin was located and to take a picture of the map so they wouldn't get lost while exploring the camp.

Lucas's cabin had the number 19 and was located about just a few meters away from their own cabin.

On their way to Luke's cabin, Haley and Peyton saw David standing in front of their cabin, so they decided that Brooke was going to get Lucas and Haley and Peyton would help David with the extra bed.

"Thanks David," Peyton said after they had positioned the bed and the nightstand.

"Always happy to be helpful," David replied with a smile and waved goodbye as he left.

Just as Haley was about to close the door, Brooke rushed inside and slammed the door shut behind her.

"Thanks very much," someone said just outside the door and Haley could hear that Luke was laughing. She opened the door and found Luke leaning against the doorframe, trying very hard to stop laughing.

Meanwhile, Brooke was headed straight to the new bed, flopped down on her stomach and covered her head with a pillow.

"What happened to you?" Haley asked, trying to take the pillow off of Brooke.

"Don't ask…" she answered, holding on to the pillow. "And don't you dare tell them!" Brooke added while shooting an angry look in Lucas's direction.

He lifted his hands up in mock surrender and tried to look frightened but failed to keep back his laughter.

"Brooke just hit on my roommate… kind of by accident", Luke finally broke his silence and earned another angry look from Brooke while Haley and Peyton burst out laughing.

"How exactly do you hit on someone accidently?" Peyton asked.

"Well, she kind of just pounced on him…" Lucas answered

"No I didn't!" Brooke shouted and had trouble being heard over all the laughter that filled the room.

"Then you tell them what happened, Brooke, because to me it looked just like that", Lucas said once they had all calmed down.

"Well, I went looking for Luke and so I knocked on the door of cabin 19 but no one answered the door. So I thought maybe Luke was not there, but then I heard him shouting something that sounded like "come in", so that's what I did. So I opened the door  
and I saw Luke standing in front of one of the two beds with his back to me. And I was so excited that we are all here together and I was so happy so I ran over to him and jumped onto his back and hugged him… And then Luke came out of the bathroom…"

Haley, Peyton and Lucas started laughing uncontrollably again and Brooke buried her face in her hands again.

"And to finish the story: I started laughing, Brooke let go of Julian, who's my roommate by the way, and then Julian turned around, smiled at Brooke and Brooke took off running." Lucas finished the story for Brooke.

"It really never gets boring with you, B. Davis" Peyton said and went over to Brooke and put her arm around her friend.

After the four had explored the camp for about an hour, they had gone to the main hall to attend the information event.

"In the next three days, you will get to know each other and the camp. You will find out about your schedules and your exact tasks. Everyone will get instructed and trained to do thier tasks correctly and you will get to know your partners," Mara explained.

"No one will have to work by themselves; everyone has been assigned a partner. There are two different kinds of employees here. There are tutors, and there are supervisors. The tutors will work in pairs of two and they will teach groups of 10 to 20 people.  
There will be lessons, three hours a day and in the afternoons there will be private lessons to work on the students weaknesses individually.

The supervisors are working in pairs of two as well, always consisting of a male and a female. Only the kids under the age of 13 will have a supervisor, the others are believed to handle everything by themselves, but if they have problems, they will be  
told to consult you as well."

After a few more explanations, David announced that there would be a rally the next morning, so they would see every inch of the camp and to get to know each other.

"Alright, you are probably all excited to find out who you will be working with for the rest of the summer, so without further ado, I will read out the pairs and classes and when your name is called, I want you to come to the front. We will start with  
the tutors."

They started with the tutors for the youngest kids to the oldest, so Haley was called last.

"Haley James and Georgia Maher" David finally called Haley's name and she made her way to the front.

Haley looked around and saw a girl her own age getting up. She looked nice and Haley was hopeful that they would get along well.

"Hi, I'm Georgia," she said when they had both reached the front.

Haley smiled back at her and introduced herself and they said they would get to know each other at the rally the next day.

Haley went back to her seat and was relieved that she had such a nice partner for the rest of the summer.

Just then, David started to announce the pairs for supervisors and she could see that Lucas and Peyton were both waiting anxiously. In contrast to Haley, Lucas and Peyton didn't know the age group they were looking after and Peyton was especially worried  
about that. She didn't even know what she was hoping for but she certainly knew that she wanted to know already.

"Second graders: Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott," Mara said and Peyton and Lucas couldn't believe their luck. They would be working together the whole summer and didn't have to worry about getting a horrible partner.

They went to the front and pretended to introduce themselves to each other with big smiles on their faces.

Brooke and Haley grinned at each other. They knew that both of them had hoped to be working together, but neither of them would ever admit that. Even a blind person could see they were attracted to each other but everything Brooke or Haley had tried had  
backfired and things had gotten awkward between the two of them, so Haley and Brooke had eventually stopped trying. Hopefully, they would finally admit to their feelings when they were spending this summer working together.

After they had eaten dinner, everyone was completely exhausted and so they decided to go to bed early that night, to be fit for the rally the next morning. They all said goodnight and fell asleep almost immediately.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Here is the next chapter :) Thank you for everyone who is reading this story! I promise Nathan will be in the next chapter, sorry about the wait ;)**

The next morning, Haley, Peyton and Brooke were woken up by loud music that was playing throughout the camp. Haley recognized the song from the movie "Amelie" and she was glad they had chosen a nice wake-up song. After getting ready in their bathroom, the girls went to the main hall to eat breakfast. Lucas and the girls had agreed to meet there in the morning and when they arrived, Luke was already sitting at one of the tables.

"So that must be Julian," Peyton said to Brooke when she spotted a guy sitting next to Lucas.

With a sudden movement, Brooke turned around and tried to leave, but Haley and Peyton each grabbed one of her arms, turned her back around and almost pulled her to the table Lucas and Julian were sitting at.

"There you are," Lucas greeted them. "I thought we said 8 o'clock, not 8:30."

"Sorry, Brooke is not really a morning person…" Peyton apologised and Brookes already red skin turned a shade redder.

"So Julian, this is Haley, Peyton and well, you already know Brooke, I guess," Lucas said with a chuckle.

"Yes, I guess so. Nice to meet you," Julian said and with a glance at Brooke he added "again," causing Haley and Peyton to laugh.

"I like you already!" Haley said before the girls went over to the buffet to get some breakfast.

The buffet looked great. There were cereals, fresh fruit, all sorts of different bread, pancakes, hash browns, eggs, muffins and a lot more.

"I thought it was a rule that food at camps is always disgusting," Haley said while piling her plate full of food.

"Yeah, but this is more like food heaven," Peyton agreed and Brooke just nodded along.

"You are awfully quiet this morning," Haley said carefully. "Is this because of the Julian incident yesterday?"

"This is so embarrassing!" Brooke said while putting a single muffin onto her plate.

"Don't worry about it Brooke. Julian seems like a really nice guy and I'm sure he won't make a big deal out of this," Haley encouraged her when she saw what a hard time Brooke was having with this.

They went back to their table and joined the guys and spend a nice breakfast. Brooke relaxed more and more throughout the breakfast and they got to know Julian better. He was a tutor like Haley, but he taught the fourth graders. Apparently Julian had been on the same bus as them and was from Wilmington, which was only about twenty minutes from Tree Hill.

The rally was supposed to start at 10am, so they still had about an hour before they had the meet at the entrance of the camp.

Just as everyone was getting up from the table to go back to their cabins and prepare for the rally, Julian asked Brooke if she would talk to him for a minute.

"Sure, I will catch up with you later, girls," Brooke said and shot a meaningful look at Haley and Peyton.

When Julian and Brooke were alone, Julian looked a little embarrassed himself, mirroring how Brooke felt.

"Okay, so, I guess I just wanted to say that I noticed that you very kind of embarrassed about what happened yesterday and I just wanted to say that you don't have to be…" Julian started while moving around nervously. "I mean, that could have happened to anyone, so you don't have to worry about it and, yeah, I guess that's all I wanted to say", Julian continued his ramble.

Brooke looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks", was all she could say. She was so relieved that he had talked to her about this to get this out of the way. She hadn't thought that he was angry at her or anything like that but she it had somehow stood between them.

"I think I never even apologised for jumping at you," Brooke finally laughed when she had found her voice.

"Don't worry about it," Julian smiled. "I mean, it doesn't happen every day that a beautiful girl jumps at me, so I'm not going to complain!" he added with a smirk and made Brooke blush.

"Well, I promise I will try not to do it again," Brooke answered and they started walking towards their cabins together. The conversation was casual and Brooke was happy that she was feeling much more relaxed in Julian's presence now. Especially because they would probably be spending quite some time together, considering that he was rooming with Lucas.

After Haley and Peyton had pestered Brooke with questions, they had gone to the entrance of the camp for the rally.

The rally was supposed to kill two birds with one stone: They should get to know the camp but also each other, so Mara announced that everyone was doing the rally with their partner.

So Lucas and Peyton would be a team, and Haley and Georgia. Since Brooke wasn't really supposed to be at camp at this time, Mara asked her if she was ok with helping her and David with the organisation. Brooke would be doing a rally with the other Students in 2 days anyway, so she wasn't really sad about it.

"Alright everyone. Find your partner and from a queue. David and Brooke will give every team a pair of handcuffs and help you put them on. When you are attached to your partner, please line up behind the flags, supervisors to the blue flag, tutors to the red one." Mara explained.

"Look at Brooke," Haley said to Peyton, "she really enjoys handcuffing everyone". Peyton just nodded and smiled a little, looking around anxiously.

"You are worried about being handcuffed to Luke, aren't you?" Haley asked, patting Peyton's shoulder. "I don't want things to get weird again, you know?" Peyton said looking down at the ground.

"I know it was a really bad situation but I'm sure that Luke doesn't want that to happen again either, so if the two of you just act like normal friends, I'm sure you'll be fine," Haley encouraged Peyton, just as Luke found them.

"There you are, partner," Luke said to Peyton. "Ready to be handcuffed to me?" he added. Peyton blushed and followed Luke to get the handcuffs.

Haley had been wandering around for a few minutes before Georgia had found her.

"Now that everyone has found their partner, I will explain how this works. It's actually really easy: Read your clue, figure out where you have to go next, find the next clue.

The first clues that David is giving out right now, determine your colour. So when you find a new flag, only take the envelope with your colour on it. Any questions?" Mara finished, just as Haley and Georgia got their light blue envelope.

"Brooke, would you do the honour?" David asked.

"I would love to!" Brooke answered sweetly and went to the front.

"May the best team win! On your marks... set... go," Brooke shouted and everyone started to run in the direction they were facing, except for Haley and Georgia. They looked at each other and started laughing.

"This is so ridiculous," Georgia laughed. "They don't even know where they have to go yet"

Haley and Georgia opened the clue and saw, that the first stop was the entrance, which was directly behind them and in the exact opposite direction everyone else had ran.

They quickly found the light blue envelope and read the clues.

"Everybody has to do it sometimes, even animals. Without it, we couldn't survive. Since you are here you have done it at least twice."

"It's eating! So let's go to the main hall," Haley exclaimed.

Just when they were back at the flags, making their way to the main hall, the first teams were running back to the entrance.

Georgia and Haley just looked at each other and started laughing.

"This is going to be so easy," Georgia said.

After two more hours and what felt like 50 clues, Haley and Georgia arrived back at the flags, completely exhausted.

"You won!" Brooke ran towards Haley to hug her, nearly running her over. Haley hugged her back and for a second she could see the irritated look on Georgia's face. But when Haley let go of Brooke, the look on Georgia's face had been replaced by a smile.

"I think this is a good omen for us working together well this summer", Georgia said. "Is there a price?" she asked a second later.

"I knew we forgot something..." David joked after joining them.

"What? We did all of this for NOTHING? There is not even a price for working our butts of? I can't believe..." Georgia complained but was interrupted by David.

"Whoa, slow down! I was only joking..." He tried to keep a friendly face, but Haley could see that it was fake.

That could get interesting in class... Haley thought and she could tell that Brooke was thinking exactly the same.

While waiting for the other teams to finish the rally, Brooke and Haley chatted with Georgia. After about an hour, all the teams were back except for Lucas and Peyton. Brooke told Mara she and Haley would wait for them, and David said he would start looking for them if they were not back by 4 o'clock.

Two hours after Haley and Georgia had finished the rally Brooke finally spotted Lucas and Peyton.

"There you are! We were beginning to think you got lost in the woods!" Brooke said while opening their handcuffs. "You guys are the last team," she added, making an apologetic face.

Lucas and Peyton looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"You are really handling the bad news well," Haley noticed smiling. She was really happy that all of Peyton's initial worries seemed to have evaporated.

"Actually, we are just happy that we made it back alive," Peyton said. "You know the one stop that was located in the woods?" Everybody nodded and Lucas continued. "Well, in the clue it said something like keep walking in a straight line until you see the next clue and we kind of missed it and just kept walking for ages... until we came out at the other end of the woods", he finished with a goofy grin, causing everybody to laugh.

"I will go and tell David we are back," Lucas said.

When Lucas had left, Haley and Brooke looked at Peyton and Haley only said a single word.

"Spill," she said and Peyton looked back and forth between the other two.

"There is nothing to tell," Peyton answered and started to walk towards their cabin.

After disbelieving looks from Haley and Brooke she added "Really! We found clue after clue and then we got lost in the woods and now we are here"

Brooke was about to protest, but Haley stopped her.

"Just let it go... for now," Haley said to Brooke with a wink. Topics like that were always easier to discuss at night, in the dark.

Back at the cabin, Brooke decided to it was time to choose what to wear for the real first day of camp. Haley decided to catch up on her reading and Peyton had made herself comfortable on her bed, sketching in her notebook.

Suddenly, Peyton's stomach started rumbling.

"I think I have never been this hungry before. Wandering through the woods for hours used up all the energy from breakfast", Peyton said apologetic after several more rumblings from her stomach.

"Wow, P. Sawyer, that can't be healthy!" Brooke said after an especially loud one.

"That was a knock on the door and not Peyton's stomach, Brooke", Haley laughed and opened the door.

"Hey, is Peyton here? I brought us some food!" Peyton heard Lucas say and rushed to him, grabbed him be the arm and pulled him inside. She snatched the bag he was holding and took a bite of a burger that was inside.

"You're welcome," Lucas said and walked over to her.

"Sorry," Peyton said with her mouth full. "I am so hungry"

Lucas sat down next to her and grabbed a burger for himself.

"So, uhm, Luke, where is your roommate?" Brooke asked, trying to sound casual.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since the rally started," Luke relied. "Why do you ask?"

"Just... you know... small talk... Can you believe that the rest of the Students will arrive the day after tomorrow?"

"I hope we will get the kids under control," Lucas said.

"I'm sure Peyton and you will make a great team and will be great with the kids," Haley just said.

 **AN: I hope you liked this chapter and I would love to get some more reviews :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thank you so much to everyone who is reading this story! I know, everyone is writing the same thing in the ANs, but I would love to get more reviews! I'm really interested in getting critism and to just know what you think about it so far! And now enjoy this chapter! (Finally with Nathan in it ;) )**

Chapter 4

"Today is the big day! Everyone knows, what they have to do, right?" David asked the next morning, when everyone was assembled in the main hall.

The supervisors would be in charge of their assigned groups the second they arrived. The older children would be welcomed by their tutors, since they didn't have any supervisors.

"The first bus will arrive in about an hour. Please have breakfast, but be ready for when the Students arrive," Mara added before everyone was heading towards the buffet.

"Hey tutor girl, are you nervous?" Brooke teased Haley, who was wringing her hands.

"Not at all! I'm just praying that the other students in my group won't be as mean as you", Haley replied sweetly.

"Ha ha," Brooke just answered before taking a big bite of her muffin.

An hour later, everyone awaited the first bus on the parking lot. There was a lot of chattering, even without the approximately 500 people who would be arriving any minute now.

"There is the first bus," someone shouted. But it wasn't just one bus. An endless line of coaches was filling up the huge parking lot. It had been planned that the busses would come in over the course of the day, but apparently that didn't work out.

It was complete mayhem. The kids spilled out of the busses and no one knew where to go so everyone just started walking towards the entrance of the camp. Haley and the others were starting to panic and feared they would get run over, but luckily Mara saved them.

"Everybody, stop moving please," she shouted through a megaphone and luckily everyone obliged.

"Honestly, we weren't prepared for all of you arriving at the same time, so we are going to improvise a little. Just hold on for a moment. Tutors and supervisors, meet us at the map!" Mara added.

They decided that every team of tutors or supervisors would go to a different part of the parking lot and the Students would be instructed to find their group.

Luckily the busses had all left when they came back and Mara announced what they had to do. Each team took the megaphone, one after the other, and introduced themselves.

After about twenty minutes, everyone had found their group the Haley and Georgia introduced themselves again.

"Maybe you could all introduce yourselves, too, so we can wait until the other groups are gone." Haley estimated there were about 15 people in their group, as promised.

A girl to Haley's left started and introduced herself as Jackie, and the guy next to her was next.

"Hey, my name is Nathan Scott and I'm from Tree Hill..." he started and smirked at Haley.

Haley was so surprised to see Nathan that all she could do was look at him until her shock wore off.

"What are you doing here?" Haley blurted out after a second.

"As my new tutor, I'm sure you have to be nicer to me, don't you think?" Nathan answered coolly. All the others look back and forth between the two of them.

"You two know each other?" Georgia asked to release the tension.

"We go to the same school..." Haley answered and then asked the boy next to Nathan to continue the introduction round.

After the last introduction, Haley and Georgia ushered the group towards the entrance to show them the map and to tell them their cabin numbers. Haley tried her best not to show her anger. She couldn't believe that Nathan was here and of course he had to be in her group. She had always believed in Karma, but she couldn't think of anything she had done to deserve this.

Nathan was Lucas' half-brother but they couldn't stand each other. Their father, Dan Scott, had abandoned Lucas' mom when she told him was pregnant, just to get Nathan's mum, Deb pregnant three month later. He decided to stay with Deb and had never claimed Lucas as his son. When Lucas was eight years old, he found that Dan was his father and ever since then Nathan and Lucas hated each other. Haley was really worried about the two of them being at camp together for the whole summer and she already dreaded the moment she had to tell Lucas.

Haley and Nathan hadn't ever talked, really, but Lucas had told her enough about the things Nathan had done to him that she hated him, too. He was such a jerk and behaved like he was the king of the school, just because he was the captain of the basketball team. He used to go out with Peyton but that was before Haley became friends with her. After going out with Nathan for some time, Peyton had realised that he wasn't treating her exactly right and that he was kind of a jerk, so she broke up with him.

It took all of Haley's might not to show her anger in front of the whole group. When everyone knew where their cabin was located, Haley and Georgia showed them the main hall and reminded them to be there at 11am and then everyone went their separate ways.

Haley stomped straight to her cabin and dropped facedown onto her bed. "I can't believe this! What the hell is he doing here? This was supposed to be a perfect summer and now he will turn this into a nightmare", Haley mumbled into her pillow. Peyton and Brooke, who had been too stunned by Haley's outburst, went over to Haley's bed and sat down next to her.

"Maybe you should tell us what happened, Haley. We are much better listeners than the pillow", Peyton said while patting Haley's arm.

Haley sat up, hugging her pillow.

"Nathan is here!" Haley said.

"Nathan SCOTT? As in Lucas' half-brother Nathan?", Brooke squealed.

And then Haley told them exactly what had happened and that she would have to tell Lucas eventually.

"Let's tell him right now", Peyton said when Haley had finished.

After debating whether or not to tell Lucas or rather when to tell him, the problem had solved itself.

"You will not believe who I just saw", Lucas barked, walking into the cabin without knocking.

"Nathan?" Peyton asked quietly.

"You know he's here?" Lucas asked completely shocked.

"He is in my group…" Haley answered. "We were just thinking about how we would tell you".

After listening to Lucas ranting about how much he hated Nathan and Dan and the fact that Nathan was here, Brooke decided it was enough now.

"This is not helping. Let's just agree to avoid him as much as possible and make the best of this. Just because he is here, it doesn't mean that this summer is going to be horrible now! It's still up to us to make this summer great!" Brooke said and after a minute of silence she added "I sound a guidance counsellor…"

That lightened the mood and they realised it was time to go back to the main hall.

Mara and David said a few words and explained that they were doing a rally later that day and a party in the evening, and the next day, classes would start. They also pointed out that the camp is mainly just this, a camp, and that it was mostly about having a great summer together. The school part of the summer was kept as minimal as possible, but they were still expected to pay attention and do their best in the lessons.

"And now enjoy your first lunch here, and get yourselves ready for the rally. Supervisors and tutors, meeting in classroom 2 in an hour! Enjoy lunch!" Mara finally finished her talk.

"So how are you getting along with your group so far, Peyton?" Haley asked as they were walking back from the meeting. Mara had instructed everyone on what to do. Everyone had been assigned a station of the rally to be in charge of. There were ordinary stations everyone had to go to, and extra stations, that earned extra points but weren't required to complete. Haley had been assigned an extra station and it was in the middle of the woods. Mara had already told Haley that there probably wouldn't be much traffic at her station that was why she had to look after the station by herself. That sure sounded like a funny afternoon…

"It has been great so far", Peyton said. "Luke is really great with the kids and they all seem to be nice enough. Luckily, there are a lot more girls in our group, so we might get more emotional stress than physical fights, which actually makes me quite happy. What about your group?"

"Well, apart from Nathan everyone seemed to be nice so far." Haley replied with an eye roll when she mentioned Nathan.

"Just try to let Georgia deal with him. She doesn't know him so she probably won't mind." Peyton suggested.

"Yeah, I will definitely ask her, thanks Peyton. I'm going to go to my station in the woods now. I'll just grab a book, quickly."

"I will go look for Luke. Good luck, Haley", Peyton said as she waved goodbye.

An hour later, Haley was completely absorbed in her novel, "The Bad Seed" by William March. She had always liked reading the classics and since it was on her reading list for next year's English class she had decided to read it during the summer.

Haley's station has not been visited by anyone yet. Since her station was in the woods, only the older kids were allowed to go to her station, and Haley couldn't imagine that anyone would walk into the woods for an extra point.

Everyone in the camp was supposed to do the rally by themselves, so unlike the rally Haley had done, this one had no teams. This was not about teambuilding, but about getting to know the camp. To get the extra point at Haley's station, the person had to climb one of the trees to reach the envelope with the next clue. That was already mentioned in the envelope before her station, so that they could decide, if they wanted to do it, which is why Haley had been alone for another hour. Mara had told her to stay at her station for three hours, and then take the envelopes down.

Luckily, the time was close to being over. Haley decided to finish the chapter and begin to clean everything up afterwards.

When Haley had put away the book, she realised she actually had to climb the tree to get the envelope down.

"I can't believe they are making me do this!" Haley mumbled to herself.

After a few tries, Haley had finally succeeded in reaching up to the first branch and had pulled herself up. The next branches were really close together, so it was easy for Haley to get to the envelopes that was about 3 meters above the ground.

Really proud of herself, Haley took down the envelopes and when she had collected them all, she let them drop to the floor. And that's when she made the mistake of looking down.

The envelopes dropped to the floor and Haley was frozen in place. Why did I let myself get into a situation like this? She thought to herself. Climbing up, it didn't seem very high, but looking down now, it seemed like at least 20 meters. I should have just left the stupid envelopes in the stupid tree!

"Didn't really think you were a tree climber…" Haley heard someone say, after she had just warmed up to the idea of just staying on the tree for the rest of the summer.

"Yeah, well, I thought I might try something else this summer", she replied when she had noticed that it was Nathan standing in front of the tree.

I really don't believe in Karma anymore! Of course, out of over 500 people at camp, Nathan had to find me on a tree, scared to death.

"Are you planning on staying there all day?", Nathan asked, clearly enjoying himself.

"I'm just enjoying the view", Haley replied. Even though she was really scared, she wouldn't let Nathan know that, even if it might be the last thing she would do.

"Alright then, have a good time up there", he said casually and started walking back towards the camp.

"Wait!", Haley shouted when Nathan was already out of sight. "Nathan! Nathan!" But Nathan was nowhere in sight. "NATHAN!" Haley shrieked.

She couldn't believe the jerk had actually walked off.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't just leave you here," Nathan said, coming back with a huge grin on his face. "So, do you need any help getting down?"

"You are really going to make me say it, aren't you?" Haley asked, relieved that he came back and annoyed at the same time.

"I might", Nathan smirked.

"Can you please help me get down?" Haley finally said after carefully thinking her options through.

"Of course, Haley, I would love to help you", Nathan replied sweetly.

"Right, first, let go of the tree trunk, so you can move." Nathan started.

"Easier said than done…" Haley mumbled but stopped hugging the tree trunk eventually.

"Now try to sit down on the branch you are standing on and slowly slide down to the next one. Good, keep going like that. Perfect, and now the last one is a bit higher…" Nathan instructed.

"Yes, I can see that, thank you. So what am I going to do?" Haley asked, completely exhausted from her fear.

"Just jump", Nathan said.

"Are you serious? This is like 8 meters high!" Haley started to panic again.

"It's probably about 2 meters, and don't worry, I'll catch you!" Nathan answered, sounding quite sincere.

"Yeah right! You'll probably let me fall and then laugh at me", Haley stated.

"So that's how low you think of me. I guess it's worse than I thought… But I think you have no other option than to trust me on this".

"But…" Haley started to argue, but she was completely out of options here. "Fine…" she finally agreed.

"One, two, three… three… Haley just jump", Nathan laughed when she didn't move. Haley finally worked up all of courage and jumped. She already prepared herself for the hard ground, when she was caught by two strong arms.

"Told you I'd catch you", Nathan said while looking her straight in the eyes, with their faces just inches apart.

"Thanks", was all Haley could get out. Her heart was beating out of her chest, with Nathan so close to her. And the fear of falling off a tree, of course.

Nathan slowly let go of Haley and put her down gently. "So, thanks again", Haley said when she was able to think clearly again.

They collected all the envelopes and walked back to camp together.

"I think you missed the award ceremony", Haley said when they had reached the main hall.

"I don't mind. I didn't have many points anyway and some of the others seemed very competitive", Nathan replied.

They had been talking the whole way back and Haley couldn't believe it, but she had actually had fun talking to Nathan.

"You're probably right. I guess I see you at the party later tonight, right?" Haley said when they had reached camp.

"Yeah, see you there."

"Oh, and thanks for rescuing me again", Haley added while walking towards her cabin.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Here is the next chapter! I hope you like it :)**

Chapter 5

When Haley got back to her cabin, Peyton and Brooke were already there.

"There you are! We were beginning to think you got lost in the woods," Brooke said with a little relief in her voice.

"We have been back for over an hour already! Where have you been this long," Peyton asked when Haley walked over to her bed.

"Sorry, I was stuck in a tree..." Haley admitted.

Brooke and Peyton looked at her disbelievingly.

"It's a long story..." Haley said, trying to avoid the topic. She didn't want to talk about it, especially because Nathan was involved. She couldn't believe that she had actually enjoyed walking back to the camp with him. And even though he had been a jerk about helping her in the beginning, she had really trusted him when he had guided her down the tree. And he was really sweet while doing it she had to admit to herself.

After dinner that evening, they had one hour left before the party would start. Brooke was already getting ready while Peyton and Haley were still deciding on what to wear.

"You can borrow one of my dresses," Brooke suggested after Haley had finished going through all of her own clothes and had decided against every single one.

"Um... thanks, but I think it's not really my... style," Haley stuttered, trying not to hurt Brooke's feelings while declining her offer.

Brooke pouted, but didn't say anything else.

45 minutes later Haley had finished her makeup but still hadn't figured out what she would wear.

"Brooke?" Haley asked shyly.

"I knew you would take me up on my offer," Brooke squealed before Haley could actually ask her.

"Ok, so I have picked out two dresses for you already," Brooke added, holding up the two dresses. One of them was a classic black dress and the other one was a light blue dress. Haley was surprised she actually liked both of them, apart from the fact that they both looked tiny.

After trying on both of the dresses, they all decided she should go with the blue dress, since it was a bit longer than the other one (but still much too short if you'd ask Haley) and Haley felt more comfortable in it.

"Tutor girl, you look great! Not so… tutory anymore," Brooke added grinning.

"That's not even a word, Brooke, but thanks... I guess," Haley laughed.

A few minutes later Lucas came over with Julian so they could all walk to the party together.

Brooke opened the door and a huge smile spread across her face when she saw Julian. He looked her up and down with wide eyes. Brooke was wearing a tight, red dress that fitted her perfectly.

"You look… wow," he finally said with a timid smile.

"Thanks," Brooke replied blushing and stepped outside so he wouldn't see her pink cheeks.

Haley was standing in the doorway and spread her arms out to give Lucas a hug, but he was completely oblivious to Haley. He was looking right past Haley, starring into the cabin. Haley turned around to follow Lucas' gaze and saw Peyton who was putting some make-up in a handbag to take to the party.

Haley smiled to herself and then decided to nudge Lucas, before Peyton caught him starring at her.

"Um, ready to go?" Lucas asked Haley once he had snapped out of it.

"Sure," Haley replied and joined Brooke and Julian who were talking in front of the cabin.

The party was held in the main hall and since it had already started half an hour ago, it was already packed. It seemed like everyone at the camp was either on the dance floor or sitting down somewhere, trying to talk over the loud music.

The room was decorated in silver and black. Garlands and balloons were covering the ceiling and the walls along with pictures that had been taken at the rally.

"When did they do all of this?" Peyton asked gaping.

Even though everyone had to leave an hour before the party was supposed to start, it was still hard to believe that Mara and David had done all of this in this short amount of time.

In addition to the beautiful decorations there was a bar with different drinks and tables with little snacks on them.

"There is an empty table right over there," Lucas said, pointing to a table between the dance floor and the bar.  
"I'll go and get us some drinks," Julian said, motioning for Lucas to help him while the girls headed over to the table.

"This party looks awesome," Brooke said when they had reached the table and she had looked around the room some more. "If this party is any indication for how this summer is going to be, it will be the best summer ever!" she added grinning from ear to ear.

When the boys joined them at the table with the drinks a few minutes later, they started talking, but noticed very soon that the music was much too loud for casual conversation. They had to shout at each other and repeat most of it so that everyone could follow the conversation and soon they settled into a comfortable silence.

Looking around the room Haley couldn't help but search the crowd for Nathan. She tried not to be too obvious about it, but after an odd and questioning look from Brooke Haley forced herself to stop. The last thing that she needed was for Brooke to get suspicious of her. Knowing Brooke, it was obvious she wouldn´t get away with this.

After a while, "Wannabe" from the Spice Girls started to play.

"I love this song," Brooke and Peyton shouted at the same time and burst out laughing. They just looked at each other, grabbed Haley by the hand and dragged her onto the dance floor. When Lucas and Julian weren't coming, Brooke went back and forced them to join in. They reluctantly started moving with the music and relaxed visibly after the song changed.

After a few songs, Brooke was dancing with Julian, and Peyton and Lucas were kind of dancing together as well and Haley started to feel like the third wheel. She was happy for them but in that moment started to worry about how the summer was going to turn out. She hoped that Lucas and Peyton would finally admit their feelings to each other this summer, so they would be preoccupied with each other. And Brooke and Julian were already trying to spend as much time together as possible, which left Haley by herself.

And apart from her worrying about being the third wheel she also had to admit to herself that she was jealous. As much as she hated feeling this way there was nothing she could do about the sting in her heart every time she looked at her friends.

After dancing to a few songs on her own, Haley excused herself from the group. Luckily, their table was still empty so Haley let herself drop onto one of the chairs. She was thankful that she couldn't see her friends from where she was sitting. As an attempt to distract herself, Haley started to watch the other kids at the party. It was still quite early, so even the younger kids were still at the party.

Right in front of her table a group of what appeared to be third graders were dancing and jumping around, having the time of their lives. They looked like they didn't have a care in the world and in that moment they probably hadn't. Haley had always admired the children's ability to forget everything else that was going on in their lives and just be in the moment. Haley couldn't help but smile at their cute giggling.

"What are you smiling about?" she suddenly heard Nathan say right behind her and her heartbeat sped up.

"I was just watching these kids dance," she replied without looking at him and instead staring intently on the kids.

"Why aren't you dancing?" Nathan asked sitting down next to her. He was now blocking her view to the dancefloor so she had no choice but to look at him.

"I don't really feel like dancing", she replied, purposefully leaving out the whole third-wheel-feeling thing.

"That's a shame. So what are you doing here all by yourself then?" He asked.

"People-watching," Haley simply replied.

Even though she had enjoyed talking to Nathan just a few hours back, she couldn't help but worry about her friends seeing them talk. She knew Lucas would freak out and the worst part was that she would understand. After all the bad pranks Nathan and the team had pulled on Lucas when he first joined the basketball team at their school, Haley completely understood why Lucas hated Nathan.

It had all started when they were about eight years old. Lucas found out that Dan was his dad who had abandoned him and chosen Nathan over him. At the same time, Nathan had found out he had a half-brother. Haley was sure that the only reason for the hatred between the two was Dan. Lucas was projecting his hatred for Dan on Nathan and Nathan felt threatened by Lucas.

They had mostly ignored each other over the years until Lucas had joined the basketball team, of which Nathan was the captain. Nathan had acted like a complete jerk and had tried to turn the whole team against Lucas. They pulled tons of pranks to make Lucas quit the team. They stole his clothes while he was showering, never passed him the ball and worst of all, kidnapped him, beat him up and left him in the middle of nowhere.

"Mind if I join you?" Nathan asked.

"You already have, haven't you?" Haley smirked.

They talked about the kids that were still dancing in front of them and about the other kids at camp. Nathan also told Haley about his roommates. He had to share a cabin with three other guys. Even though two of them seemed to be jerks, his third roommate, Jake, was actually really nice.

"I'm going to get us new drinks," Nathan said when he noticed Haley's empty glass and got up. Haley nodded and smiled in response.

The more time Haley spent talking to Nathan the less she could believe that he was the same guy who had done all those awful things to Lucas. When he was talking to Haley he was funny and nice and a complete gentleman. Of course he had a kind of "mean" sense of humour and enjoyed to make people uncomfortable, like when Haley was stuck in the tree, but his smirks made them harmless and Haley found herself forgiving him instantly.

Suddenly loud voices pulled her from her thoughts. She could hear two people shouting at each other near the bar. A large crowd that had formed blocked her view so she got up and walked over. When she got closer she thought she could hear Lucas' voice over the loud music so she pushed her way through the crowd as quickly as she could.

When she had finally reached the front, she was just in time to see Nathan hitting Lucas in the face. Lucas tumbled back a few steps and then got ready to hit back. Haley stood there in shock and when she finally snapped out of it both of the boys had already gotten a few punches in. Haley rushed over to them to pull them apart when Nathan was just about to hit Lucas again.

Haley felt a sharp pain just above her left eye and cried out. That's what did the trick. Both brothers stopped and rushed over to Haley, who had fallen to the floor from the force of Nathan's elbow.

"Haley! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" Nathan asked, kneeling next to her. There was a cut on her left eyebrow and blood was dripping down her cheek. Haley felt a little dizzy and was happy that she was already on the floor because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to stand. "Don't touch her!" Lucas said pushing him out of the way and taking his place next to Haley.

"Are you alright?" Haley heard Mara ask with worry in her voice. She just nodded and after inspecting her cut, Mara sent her to the nurse with Peyton and Brooke, who had appeared next to her out of nowhere.

"And you two," Mara added looking from Nathan to Lucas "will come with me. Now!"

After Peyton had helped Haley up, the three girls started walking towards the nurse's cabin. Haley couldn't help but look back at Nathan, who was looking at her with worry and regret in his eyes.

 **AN: Please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: So here is the next chapter! It's kind of a filler but I promise the next one will have more Naley in it :)**

Chapter 6

"What the hell happened?" Brooke asked Lucas with anger in her voice when he came to their cabin an hour later.

Haley had spent an hour with the nurse who had stitched up her cut and insisted that she stayed for a little while. The girls had been trying to figure out what had happened between the guys, but neither of them had seen anything. Haley felt a little guilty for not telling them that she had been talking to Nathan before the fight, but she didn't want to add to the problem. She was a little worried though that Lucas may have seen her talking to Nathan and had therefore started the fight.

"He is just such a jerk!" Lucas exclaimed pacing around the room. "I was getting drinks for us at the bar and when I turned around, I accidently ran into Nathan. I didn't even realise it was him. I just apologised but then he looked at me and realised who had run into him. He was completely shocked and started yelling why I was there and that I had bumped into him on purpose. And the next thing I know, we were yelling at each other and then he hit me. So I hit back…" Lucas finished his story.

Lucas walked over to Haley who was lying in her bed and looked at her cut.

"How are you," he asked, looking concerned.

"Don't just change the topic, Luke. That was so stupid. I know he started the fight, but it was still just as stupid of you to even argue with him and punching back wasn't any smarter!" Haley scolded him.

"I know, Haley. I already feel bad enough, ok? So how are you? I am worried about you." Lucas answered.

"I'm fine, Luke. You don't need to worry about me." Haley smiled.

"What did Mara say? Did they kick Nathan out?" Brooke asked hopefully.

"No, but they almost kicked both of us out. Mara is really mad, especially at me because I'm supposed to be a role model for the younger kids. And she said she had to make an example of this, because they had a zero tolerance for violence here. But we both promised to stay away from each other and Mara didn't know how she was supposed to find someone to replace me, so that kind of saved us…"

Haley let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. She couldn't imagine this summer without Nathan anymore. She was mad at herself for feeling this way, but she couldn't help it. Even though she had only spent a few hours with him she really enjoyed the time with him. Haley felt like they had known each other forever when she was talking to Nathan

But all the affection Haley was starting to feel towards Nathan was clouded by the fight he had had with Lucas. Why was he being such a jerk around Lucas and so funny and nice towards her? Sure, they had their differences but Haley just couldn't understand why Nathan had to pick a fight every time their paths crossed. And the way Lucas had explained the situation, Nathan had not only started the verbal but also the physical part of the fight which made Haley even angrier.

Even though they went to bed quite early, Haley felt completely exhausted when she heard Peyton's alarm go off.

"Please tell me you set the alarm clock to the middle of the night by accident and it is not actually morning yet," Haley begged sleepily.

Brooke and Peyton only groaned as Haley sat up carefully. She moaned loudly, causing Peyton to open her eyes and look at her with concern.

"Is your head still hurting?" she asked.

"I think it's even worth than yesterday…" Haley mumbled.

Brooke, who had gotten out of her bed unnoticed, handed Haley an aspirin and a bottle of water and went into the bathroom without saying a word.

"She is obviously not really a morning person," Peyton said when Haley looked a little confused.

"Obviously," Haley laughed and winced instantly.

"You should really stay in bed today!" Peyton said.

"I can't! It's the first day and I can't miss it. Georgia would kill me and … no!" Haley answered determinedly.

After getting ready really slowly, the girls met Lucas and Julian at breakfast. Haley was feeling a little sick and the simple idea of putting anything into her stomach made it even worse.  
"Haley, you have to eat something," Lucas said for what seemed like the millionth time.

With an eye roll and a small wince she got up and decided that it was less annoying to get some food than listening to Lucas any longer. But the more Haley looked at the food, the less she felt like eating anything.

"Maybe you should start with a plain bun," a soft and careful voice said behind her. For a moment she couldn't place it because she had never heard so much softness and concern in that voice. When she turned around she found Nathan holding out a bun to her. His eyes were mirroring the concern in his voice and for a second she was too stunned to look away. His eyes drifted to the cut over her eyebrow and Haley could see the guilt and regret in them. Haley couldn't help but feel a little bit of satisfaction about the fact that he was blaming himself for her pain. After all, it had been him who had hit her and caused the cut and he had also started the fight, so there was really no one else to blame. But even though Haley knew all that, she also wanted to take the guilt away from him. She was sure that he didn't mean to hurt her and she wasn't angry at him for causing her gash. She was angry at him because of the way he treated Lucas.

Haley wasn't naive enough to believe it was all Nathan's fault either. She was certain that Lucas had provoked Nathan just as much as the other way around, but she also believed Lucas when he said that Nathan had started the fight.

"Thanks," Haley replied nonchalantly, took the bun he was offering her and walked back to her table. Lucas seemed to be pleased when he saw that she had brought back some food and left her alone for the remainder of breakfast. Haley only half listened to her friends' conversation and nibbled at her breakfast while her mind kept drifting back to the concern in Nathan's eyes.

Since it was a summer camp, classes only started at 10am and lasted 3 hours, with a little break in the middle of it. The lessons would take place five days a week and some of the students would be having extra lessons in the afternoon, one on one with a tutor.

Haley and Georgia had been given a schedule so they knew what they had to cover over the whole summer but they could pretty much decide everything else. From the question of what subject to start with to their teaching methods they were pretty much free to do as they liked. Haley and Georgia hadn't really talked above it methods yet, but they had decided to start with English first.

Standing in front of the students had been a little awkward at the beginning but they were really happy with their group of students so it was easy to get into it. They got off to quite a stiff start, but by the time the first break rolled around, Haley had even attempted a joke which had gone quite well. Although Haley must admit that Nathan had been the only one who had laughed out loud, while the others had only chuckled a little. She could see he was making an effort to get on her good side again and she enjoyed it.

She liked seeing Nathan try for something. At school, everything seemed to come to him so easily. He was the most popular kid in school, the basketball captain and he got away with just about anything because he was the basketball star player and because Dan fixed everything for him. But now he actually had to work for it and in that moment Haley decided that she was using this opportunity to teach him a lesson.

During the small break Haley could feel Nathan's eyes on her the entire time, but she was engaged in a conversation with Georgia about the upcoming group assignment they had planned for after the break.

"We also have to announce the one on one lessons at the end," Georgia reminded Haley.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot about that. Mara gave me an envelope earlier today," Haley answered and pulled it out of her bag.

"So, I think that went quite well today. Thanks everyone for making this so easy for us, we had a great first day with you. Before you leave, we just want to tell you about the one on one lessons quickly. As you know, not all of you are going to have these lessons, that depends on what kind of course your parents booked." Haley started.

"Right, so here is the list. Only four of you will be having these extra lessons, Jason and Sally will have them with me, and Jackie and Nathan, you will have them with Haley," Georgia announced and Haley couldn't believe it. Of course he had to have extra lessons and she obviously had to be his tutor.

Mara had probably thought that it made sense to pair him with Haley since they went to the same school but Haley was getting the feeling that it was impossible for her to avoid him. And if she was being completely honest with herself she wasn't sure she really wanted to.

Haley tried to glance at Nathan unnoticed, but she found him already looking at her. She had expected to find a smirk on his face, but instead she found a rather timid smile and though she didn't plan on it, she returned it.

After everyone had left, Georgia and Haley stayed behind to talk about the lessons. They agreed that the first lesson had gone really well and started planning their lessons for the whole week.

"So, what's the deal with you and Nathan?" Georgia asked while they were both packing up an hour later.

"Umm... what do you mean," Haley stammered, a little taken aback.

"Well, it's obvious that something happened between the two of you," Georgia laughed at Haley's confused look.

"We go to the same school and we don't like each other very much! That's about it," Haley replied, trying to sound casual.

Haley didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Oh, so does that mean you two are not a thing?" Georgia asked and Haley's jaw dropped open.

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Haley asked once she gained back her composure.

"Well, for starters he is always starring at you and I've seen you talking to him quite a lot since we got here."

"I can assure you that there is nothing going on between Nathan and I! The only reason he keeps looking at me is because of this..." Haley explained, pointing to her bruise.

"He still feels guilty about it," she added.

"Wait, Nathan did this to you?" Georgia asked shocked.

Haley told her the whole story and was surprised that Georgia hadn't known about it yet. The whole camp had been talking about it at breakfast since a lot of people had witnessed the fight during the party.

"I guess I was too drunk," Georgia answered with a smirk, answering Haley's thoughts.

Haley suppressed the urge to ask where she got the alcohol from and simply faked a smile.

"Oh, I was supposed to meet my friends for lunch a few minutes ago. See you tomorrow," Haley said while looking at the clock and quickly left the classroom.

 **AN: Don't forget to review :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thanks for the reviews! And for those of you who are worrying about the relationship between Nathan and Lucas: They will develop a friendship at some point in the story :) And I hope you like the promised Naley parts of this Chapter :)**

Chapter 7

The rest of the week passed uneventfully. While Peyton and Lucas spent a lot of time with each other and with the kids they were looking after, Brooke concentrated on her lessons, surprising everyone.

Somehow Haley got through the lessons without talking to Nathan. He had tried to talk to her during the first days, but it seemed he had given up by Wednesday. Haley wasn't sure how she felt about it. Sure, she was glad that she could stop being so careful to avoid him, but she was also kind of sad that he had given up this easily.

During the week, Mara had told Haley and the other tutors that there would be camp games for the younger kids this weekend. A lot of the younger kids had gotten homesick during the week and they wanted to take their minds off of it, so Mara and David had come up with the idea of camp games.

It was supposed to be a surprise and since it was a last minute idea, Haley and the others were asked to help.

Everyone thought about what kind of games they could prepare and how to keep it a surprise. While the supervisors kept them occupied on Friday afternoon, the tutors and Mara met in the main hall.

"Thank you for coming", Mara greeted everyone.

"We are really happy that so many of you have decided to help us. To keep this as short as possible, we've decided that everyone can just put their ideas down on a piece of paper and David and I will go through them and choose the best ones. We will meet back here at 3 o'clock so we can all prepare the games! Please write down your ideas and pin them on the black board here", Mara explained and everyone started writing.

Haley went back to the cabin after writing down "can knockdown" and "egg-and-spoon race". She knew her ideas weren't very original but she wasn't in the mood to be creative. She just wanted to stay alone her cabin until she had to help prepare the games.

Haley was beyond relieved to find the cabin was empty when she got there and so she decided to take a nap.

"I need a break", Peyton said storming into the cabin.

Haley startled awake at the sudden sound.

"Sorry! I didn't think you would be here", Peyton apologised when she saw Haley wide eyes.

"It's ok. What's up?" Haley asked, wiping her eyes.

"These kids will be the death of me! They are constantly complaining, running around, arguing with us or each other, hitting and kicking each other or doing the exact opposite of what we tell them to do", Peyton rambled while dropping next to Haley onto her bed.

Haley patted Peyton on the back soothingly, not knowing what she could say to make her feel better. That's when a thought crossed her mind.

"Did you just leave Lucas alone with them?" Haley asked accusingly.

"I just couldn't take it anymore!" Peyton defended herself but was starting to feel guilty.

"Peyton!" Haley scolded. "You can't just leave him alone with them! Especially if they really are as bad as you just told me!"

"I know! It's just… ugh!" Peyton tried to argue but failed.

Haley laughed at her friend and got out of bed when her view fell on the clock.

"Oh my god! I have to go!" Haley exclaimed and started running towards the door when Peyton caught her by the arm.

"You might want to put on some jeans and change out of your pyjamas before you leave", Peyton commented with a smirk.

When Haley arrived at the main hall a few minutes later, completely out of breath, she realised that everyone was already leaving. She cursed under her breath and went over to Mara.

"There you are!" Mara said, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry! I took a nap and I overslept. Just tell me what I can do! What's the plan?" Haley asked without taking a breath.

"I wasn't sure if you were coming, so all of the tasks are already assigned." Mara said with an apologetic look on her face.

"Haley can help me", Nathan suddenly said from right behind Haley.

"That's a great idea, Nathan! You seem to be full of those today!" Mara said, relieved and truly grateful for his help.

"But…" Haley started to argue but Mara was already out of earshot.

"I guess you're stuck with me for the rest of the day then." Nathan said, hiding a smile.

"So what are we doing?" Haley asked, ignoring Nathans comment.

"Wait and see…" he replied, grinning openly at her now.

Haley supressed a groan and started trudging after Nathan.

He led her through the woods for what felt like hours without either of them saying a word. Haley was glad he wasn't talking to her but she was also annoyed he didn't even try. Haley couldn't decide how she felt which seemed to happen a lot around Nathan.

But even though she couldn't figure out her feelings, she was sure that she had enough of walking through the woods in silence.

"Where are we going?" Haley asked when she couldn't take it anymore.

"You don't really like surprises, do you?" Nathan answered turning around to look at her.

"What do you think?" Haley answered rolling her eyes at him.

"Don't worry, we're almost there. And it's worth the walk, trust me".

"Trust you… great idea" Haley mumbled back.

Suddenly Nathan stopped walking and turned around causing Haley to nearly walk right into him.

"Close your eyes" Nathan said, smiling down at her.

After hesitating for a second, Haley closed her eyes and covered them with her hands. She felt Nathan leave his spot in front of her and nearly jumped three feet in the air when she suddenly felt his hands on her arms. Her arms erupted in goose bumps from Nathans touch which she chose to ignore and she prayed to god he didn't notice.

He started pushing her gently, causing her to walk forward.

"If you make me walk into a tree I swear to god I will make you pay", Haley threatened.

She felt Nathan chuckle behind her and felt a small smile spreading across her face.

"Two more steps, perfect. Now open your eyes slowly", Nathan instructed.

When Haley opened her eyes, she couldn't help but gasp.

There was a beautiful, bright turquoise lake in front of her. It was surrounded by trees except for the big meadow they were currently standing on. Haley looked around and her eyes grew wider with each passing second.

"Wow", was all she could say.

"I thought we could have the award ceremony here after the games." Nathan told her after giving her the time to take everything in.

"That is a great idea! We could put up a podium here, and drinks and some snacks over there and maybe we can even put up some blankets and pillows over there…" Haley trailed of, only stopping when she caught Nathan starring at her with a huge grin on his face.

"What?" she asked blushing and smiling back at him shyly.

"Nothing, you're just cute when you ramble about things you are excited about" he answered casually and Haley felt her heart jump. She couldn't help but stare at him before snapping out of it.

Haley didn't trust her voice so she just walked towards the lake. There was a little pier that reached about 15 m into the lake. Haley walked to its end and found a little table with two seats attached to it and sat down in the right seat. Nathan had followed her slowly and sat down on the other seat.

"This is amazing, Nathan", Haley said after they had been sitting in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"I'm glad you like it", he replied.

"But I'm still mad at you", Haley said only half joking. Nathan shifted uncomfortable in his seat. Even though her tone had been casual he knew there was at least some truth in them.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't see you standing right behind me and I wanted to help you afterwards but Lucas looked as if he would kill me if I came near you. And then you were gone and avoided talking to me so I didn't get the chance to apologise to you. But I really am sorry, Haley" Nathan rambled.

"I know you didn't mean to hurt me, Nathan! That's not what I am mad at you for!" Haley answered frustrated. Nathan looked at Haley, confusion showing clearly on his face.

"What happened? Why did you fight with Lucas?" Haley asked when she realised that he didn't get it. She wanted to make him understand that there was no point to this fight but she was sure that he wouldn't listen if she just said so. He had to realise it himself.

"He started it! I got us drinks at the bar and when I turned around he ran into me and then we started arguing! But HE ran into ME, Haley. I didn't start this", Nathan started defending himself.

"So what you're saying is that he started the fight by running into you?!" Haley asked to clarify.

"Well yes…" Nathan replied with a lot less confidence than before.

"And it didn't even cross your mind that it might have been an accident? That he didn't mean to run into you?" Haley asked softly. She didn't mean for this to be an interrogation, she just wanted to make him understand.

"It wasn't an accident Haley. I saw it in his eyes." Nathan said, hoping she would believe him.

Haley just shook her head. She didn't know what to say to that. Nathan was convinced that Lucas had provoked him at the bar and that he only reacted to it. He looked really worried about how she would react to his accusation towards Lucas. Haley decided to try again.  
"Are you sure it's not just something you imagined? Luke isn't the type to just provoke someone for fun, Nathan. And I know you don't get along, but I'm sure if you would just give him a chance, you guys could maybe even become friends. And I'm sure…"

"So I am the bad guy again, right?" Nathan interrupted Haley, standing up.

"I know what I saw, Haley! And have you even considered the fact that maybe I am the one telling the truth here and not Lucas?" Nathan said, getting louder with each word.

And then he stomped away, leaving a shocked Haley behind. Haley's gaze followed Nathan as she processed everything he had just told her. And maybe he had a point. Regardless of what really happened at the party, Haley hadn't even given Nathan the benefit of the doubt. She had just assumed that Nathan had been the one who started the fight. And when Lucas had told her what had happened, her assumptions had been confirmed. But it never even crossed her mind that Lucas might have lied to her. They had never lied to each other, ever, and Haley had no idea why he should lie to her now. And she still didn't want to believe that he did.

But Nathans expression when she had accused him of starting the fight was so full of hurt that she was starting to doubt Lucas' story. The thing that made her question herself the most, though, was the defeated look in Nathans eyes when he had walked away from her.

Suddenly she realised that she had no idea how to get back to the camp. She raced towards the trees Nathan had disappeared between and then stopped. She couldn't even remember if she had to turn right or left and she was starting to panic. Normally, she would have memorised their way but because she had been frustrated and nervous about being alone with Nathan during their long walk, she hadn't paid any attention to the way at all.

She looked around and tried to find something that might give her a clue as to where the camp might be, but the trees all looked the same to Haley.

"Are you coming?" Nathan said a few meters to her left and she felt relief wash over her. Haley turned her head to look at Nathan who still looked a little angry. Without thinking about it she rushed toward him and threw her arms around him. He was completely taken aback but after the initial shock had worn off he wrapped her arms around her. He was at least a foot taller than her and her head fit perfectly into the crook of his neck.

He started tracing small circles on her back and Haley tried to suppress a shiver.

"You didn't think I would leave you here, did you?" Nathan asked, pulling away a little to look down at her. Just then, Haley became aware that she was in Nathans arms and she pulled away blushing.

"Of course I did! You shouted at me and then left" Haley said, slightly accusing to hide her embarrassment.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you. It's just that…"

"Don't apologise." Haley cut him off.

"You were right, actually. So I'm sorry. For just assuming that it was all your fault. Don't get me wrong, I still don't think you were innocent in this, but I was wrong to blame all of this on you", Haley said sincerely.

Haley could see the relief in Nathans eyes as he just smiled as a response. She was glad they had made up so quickly after their fight.

"Let's go back to camp and talk to Mara about the location" Nathan suggested and Haley nodded.

On their way back, Nathan told Haley that he had found the lake a few days back when he was taking a walk. When he heard about the games he immediately thought of that meadow again and Mara told him to check it out and take some pictures so she could decide if it was worth the long walk. Apparently he had taken some pictures when Haley hadn't been looking. They discussed what they would do with the location and what they needed to prepare and before they knew it they were back at the camp.

They showed Mara the pictures and she was so happy she nearly jumped up and down.

"How could I not know that this lake is so close to the camp?" she said incredulously, over and over again.

They agreed that Nathan and Haley would organise everything tomorrow during the games and Mara trusted them to do it on their own. They were allowed to use all the supplies they needed and David would be taking care of the food and drinks.

They started walking back to their cabins and stopped at the crossing where their ways parted. There was kind of an awkward silence.

"So I guess I see you tomorrow at ten then" Haley finally said.

"I look forward to it" Nathan replied smiling and Haley blushed for what felt like the thousandth time that day. She waved awkwardly as she turned around and started walking the rest of the way to her cabin. Before she went inside she looked back once more and found Nathan still standing in the same spot where she had left him, waiting for her to reach her cabin. She waved to him one last time and went inside with a huge grin spreading across her face.

 **AN: Please review :))))**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: So this chapter is a little longer and I hope you like it :)))**

Chapter 8

Haley closed the door behind her and leaned against it from the inside, eyes closed and the huge grin still on her face.

"Who is he?" Brooke asked, causing Haley to literally jump.

"Brooke! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Haley answered flustered, actively avoiding the question.

"I thought you were at dinner by now", Haley added, trying to change the topic.

"I was waiting for you for ages!" Brooke replied impatiently while her stomach was growling in agreement.

The two girls made their way to dinner and just when Haley thought she got away with it, Brooke asked about her good mood again.

"I... I just found this beautiful spot in the woods and it really is breathtaking, Brooke. There is a turquoise lake with a beautiful meadow in front of it with lots of different flowers!" Haley answered, purposefully leaving Nathan out of her explanation.

Brooke gave a weird look but let her get away with it, even though Haley had a feeling Brooke knew that she wasn't telling her all of it.

After Haley had filled Brooke in about the award ceremony she had to organize the next day, the two girls reached the main hall and found their friends already sitting at their usual table. Haley felt a little awkward to see Lucas because she still hadn't figured out if she should talk to him about the fight again or not. She decided to leave it be, at least for now.

The air was thick with tension already anyway, so Haley really didn't want to add to that. Peyton and Lucas were sitting as far away from each other as possible and there was dead silence. When Julian saw them coming, the relief that washed over his face was almost palpable. Brooke sat down next to him and they started chatting while Haley greeted Peyton and Lucas. She gave Peyton a look that said "come with me" and Peyton obeyed.

"What is going on?" Haley asked when they were out of earshot.

"He is mad at me for leaving him alone with the kids this afternoon! I was only gone for like twenty minutes and I apologized to him when I came back but he just stopped talking to me! Why is he being so childish about this?" Peyton vented while Haley was looking at the food.

"Just give him some time, Peyton. He will let it go eventually. Don't worry about it too much" Haley answered, trying to calm Peyton.

"But he has never been this mad at me before and to be honest, this is definitely not the worst thing we have fought about until now." Peyton added worriedly.

"Do you think he is mad about something else as well?" Haley asked.

"I don't know. I don't think I have done anything else that might upset him..." Peyton replied after thinking about it.

"Try to talk to him again tomorrow, maybe he is just having a bad day", Haley suggested and Peyton nodded in agreement.

After a very long and uncomfortable dinner they all went back to their respective cabins. At dinner, Julian told Brooke all about the camp games the next day and she had offered to help him organize his part, which he had gladly accepted. Since they all had to get up early the next morning, they decided to go to bed early that night.

When Haley was lying in bed, she felt the grin creep onto her face again. She was going to spend the whole day with Nathan tomorrow, preparing everything for the ceremony. She was still relieved that they had resolved their fight and that the evening had ended on a good note. A very good note. Haley felt giddy just thinking about it and she was having a hard time falling asleep. After an hour of tossing around, she suddenly heard a silent sniffing sound. She listened intently, but there was only silence. Then she heard it again. She was sure it was coming from Peyton's direction.

Haley turned on the small lamp next to her bed and looked over to Peyton. She had her back to Haley and was curled up into a ball. Haley turned around to wake Brooke for support, but she found that her bed was empty. But since it was Brooke, she wasn't worried at all and made her way over to Peyton's bed. She placed her hand carefully on Peyton's back, making sure she wasn't scaring her, before she climbed into the bed. Peyton turned around and Haley immediately noticed the tear streaks on her face. Without a word Peyton placed her head on Haley's shoulder and Haley let her cry on her shoulder.

When Peyton had stopped crying, Haley looked down at Peyton.

"You really like him, don't you?" Haley asked softly. Peyton nodded slowly while one more tear made its way down her cheek.

"Peyton you have to talk to him! Not just about you leaving today, but about your feelings as well. I know you don't want to ruin your friendship but Luke wouldn't be this hurt by such a small thing if he didn't have any feelings for you. I have known him for half my life, Peyton, you can trust me on this." Haley tried to convince her.

"And have you seen the way he looks at you? Well, you obviously haven't because otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Haley added in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Peyton rewarded her with a small smile.

"I will talk to him tomorrow", Peyton finally decided, an air of finality in her voice.

Before Peyton could change her mind, Haley quickly changed the topic.

"Do you have any idea where Brooke is?" She asked.

"I thought she was asleep", Peyton replied confused.

"Nope, I'm not!" Brooke said, walking through the door in that exact moment.

"Where have you been?" Haley asked.

"I went on a walk with Julian", Brooke replied casually, failing to hide her smile.

"By the look on your face I'm guessing it went well", Peyton joked and Haley was glad to see that Peyton was in the mood for jokes again.

"Well, I guess you could say that", Brooke replied with a mischievous grin on her face.

Haley and Peyton looked at each other and simultaneously said: "Spill!"

"He asked at dinner if I wanted to go for a walk with him sometime and I said yes. So when I couldn't sleep earlier, I decided to text him and see if he wanted to go for a walk now. He said he had been thinking about texting me the exact same question so we met outside and walked around the camp." Brooke told them.

"And...?" Haley asked, urging Brooke to continue.

"And then he took my hand at some point and let me tell you, he has really nice hands." Brooke continued with a smirk.

"And that's it?" Peyton asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"Oh, and then he kissed me goodnight", Brooke added casually, causing Haley and Peyton to let out a squeal. Brooke joined Haley and Peyton on the bed and they let Brooke tell them every detail until they eventually went to sleep.

Haley was exhausted when her alarm went off the next morning. She was just about to ignore it and go back to sleep when it suddenly dawned on her that she was spending the day with Nathan. She was completely awake instantly and started to get ready for breakfast. After a lot of protest, Peyton and Brooke had finally gotten out of bed as well and they left at 9 sharp to meet the guys for breakfast.

Julian and Lucas were leaving at the same time and they met in front of their cabins. Brooke blushed when Julian smiled her and she didn't know what to do. She felt shy in front of their friends and she didn't know what the kiss had meant to him. She decided it was safest to just wait for his reaction and she was glad when he walked over to her and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, causing her to blush even deeper.

Peyton and Haley smiled at each other and when Peyton looked over at Lucas she saw he was smiling too. Their eyes met while they were both still smiling at Brooke and Julian, but Lucas quickly wiped the smile off his face when his eyes met Peyton's, causing Peyton's smile to falter as well.

After breakfast Haley patted Peyton on the back encouragingly and excused herself to meet Nathan. She had had a hard time hiding her giddiness during breakfast and especially when she had to pretend that she had to prepare the ceremony by herself. She suppressed the urge to skip out of the dining hall and forced herself to walk at a normal speed.

They had agreed to meet Mara and David at 10am in front of the supply closet, which was really an entire supply house. There were chairs and benches, a whole room full of all kinds of decorations, wheelbarrows, tools, wood and other materials and loads of other stuff.

When Haley got there, Mara and David were already inside with Nathan, even though it was still a few minutes before 10am.

Haley was a little nervous to see Nathan but she was also excited about spending the day with him. When she walked into the room Mara was the first to see her.

"Good Morning Haley! So we've decided that we need to have a big podium but the problem is that we don't have one..." Mara jumped right into the topic at hand.

"So Nathan said that he could build one", Mara finished filling Haley in.

"Oh wow, that's sounds a little complicated but I'm sure Nathan can do it", Haley replied with a smile. She expected Nathan to smile back at her which he eventually did, but his smile wasn't sincere and Haley started to worry.

What could have happened between now and yesterday evening? But maybe she was just overreacting. Maybe she had just imagined it or he was still tired so she decided not to worry just yet. They had been getting along so perfectly on their walk back.

"So we're just gonna leave you to it then", David said after showing them around and then they left.

Nathan had already busied himself by looking at the wood to decide what he would need for the podium. Haley felt out of place and she wanted to find out if there was something going on so she went over to where he was sorting through the wood.

"Hey", she started in lack of something better to say.

"Hey", he answered without turning around.

Ok, there was definitely something wrong. He had been so sweet and kind towards her the evening before, he had even waited for her to enter her cabin, and now he wasn't even looking at her.

"Do you need some help with that?" Haley offered, trying to get him to talk to her.

"No, I'm good" he replied nonchalantly and Haley felt her stomach drop. He had never been this cold to her before.

"I will choose some decorations then", Haley said walking towards the decoration room. She didn't turn around again so she didn't see Nathan looking at her with sad eyes and a quiet sigh.

About an hour later without either of them saying a word to the other, Nathan walks over to Haley.

"I'm ready to go, how about you?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, me too. Let's go", Haley replied, trying to keep any emotions out of her voice.

They had filled up a wheelbarrow each and started pushing it through the woods. Haley was glad that she was in charge of the decorations which were all light. Nathan's wheelbarrow on the other hand was filled up with wood, nails and tools and looked as if it would weigh a lot.

They started their walk in silence but at some point Haley just couldn't take it anymore. She decided to try to find out what was going on with Nathan without actually asking him.

"So what have you been up to after we had gotten back yesterday?" Haley asked casually. Nathan seemed surprised to hear her voice after such a long silence and Haley was worried he would just ignore her question.

"Nothing much. I went to get some dinner, went back to the cabin and went to bed early. I figured I would need a lot of energy today", Nathan finally replied.

Haley was relieved he spoke to her but at the same time disappointed that she knew just as much as before.

They kept talking for the rest of the way but Haley still felt like there was something off. Even though he talked and even asked some questions, it was nothing like the way they had been talking and joking around the day before. He was distant and they only spoke about non personal things like TV series or school.

When they finally reached the meadow Nathan let go of his wheelbarrow instantly.

"Geez, that thing is heavy", he exclaimed.

"So, I will start building the podium, I guess and you could get started on the decorations?" he suggested.

"Or I could help you build the podium and then we can decorate together." Haley said. She didn't want to just avoid him the whole day, especially after their conversation on the walk there. She felt like the walls he had built up around him were starting to crack a little with each minute they spent talking.

Haley could see the inner fight he was having and waited patiently for his reply. She prayed to god he would accept her help, even though she knew that she probably wasn't really helpful. She had never actually build something out of wood before.

"Okay", Nathan answered after what felt like an eternity.

After choosing the right spot for the podium (they had settled on putting it in front of the lake) Haley took Nathan's wheelbarrow and tried to push it to the lake. The only problem was that she couldn't even lift it up. She saw Nathan smirk next to her before coming to her help.

Suddenly he was right behind her and she didn't know in which direction she should go so he could take over the wheelbarrow. Just as she made a step to the right he did the same thing, nearly causing her to fall. Instead of falling, she ended up with her back flat on his chest.

"Whoa, careful", Nathan said holding onto her arms to steady her. Haley was having a hard time thinking straight with Nathan touching her. Before she could move, he moved away from her quickly holding onto her arms just until he was sure he was standing properly. Haley was confused and felt a sting in her heart at his actions. Instantly she felt his walls coming back up. Great, she thought, after all the effort and we're back to square one.

Nathan pushed the wheelbarrow to the lake and started unpacking the tools and the wood. Haley followed him, unsure of what she should do. She really wanted to break down his walls again, but she was tired of it at the same time.

She sat down on the grass a few feet away from him and started putting the tools in a row. Nathan put the planks in the right positions and tried to figure out which part was supposed to go where while Haley pretended to be busy with organizing the tools.

"Can you pass me the hammer, please?" Nathan finally asked.

Haley passed him the hammer wordlessly and watched him. He was trying to hold two planks together while knocking in the nail at the same time.

Without asking, Haley went over to him and grabbed the two planks from him, holding them together so he could knock in the nail. They worked in silence, only interrupted by occasional instructions from Nathan.

"Do you want to try?" Nathan suddenly asked.

"Sure, thanks", Haley replied, not wanting to leave out an opportunity to break down the walls.

He handed her the hammer and took the planks from her. There was hardly anything Haley was bad at, but knocking nails into walls or planks was definitely one of them.

She held the nail with her left hand and tried to knock the nail in with the hammer in her right hand. She started off carefully, but then she got the hang of it and used a little more force. She was still not using a lot of strength and the nail barely moved with each knock. And Haley was glad she was so careful because suddenly she missed the nail and hit Nathan's thumb.

Nathan groaned and let go of the planks to hold his thumb and Haley rushed over to him quickly.

"I'm so sorry Nathan! Is it bad? Let me see!" she said in one breath taking Nathan's hand in hers, examining his thumb. He winced when she touched the sore spot.

"Let's get you to the lake, maybe the water can cool it a little." Haley suggested pulling him up by his hand. They walked to the lake with Haley still holding on to his hand and he was completely aware of it.

"Haley, it's ok. It's not that bad", he said softly.

"Just admit it, it was payback for the elbow-eyebrow incident", he joked while Haley placed his thumb into the water carefully.

They sat there in silence, but it was a comfortable silence for once. A few minutes later, Haley pulled on Nathan's hand to look at his thumb again and she was not very happy with what she saw.

"It's turning blue!" Haley exclaimed shocked.

"It doesn't hurt that bad, I promise", Nathan assured her, really looking at her for the first time that day. She looked back at him with worried eyes and she could feel the air shift around them. She was still holding onto his hand when he started tracing small patterns on her hand. His other hand came up towards her face and Haley prepared for the feeling of his hand on her face when he suddenly stopped himself and pulled his hand away from her.

Okay, that was enough. What was going on with him? One minute he was joking around with her and she was pretty sure he had just been about to kiss her and the next he became distant and cold. Haley had enough of it. She got up and walked over to her wheelbarrow and started putting up the decorations. She couldn't help but glance over at Nathan who was still sitting in the same spot she had left him, starring out onto the lake.

Haley was completely lost in her thoughts when she saw Nathan walking towards her. She decided to ignore him and kept working on the decorations.

"Haley..." Nathan started but Haley cut him off immediately.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Haley shouted, all of the emotions she had suppressed coming out at once.

"One minute we are joking around and the next you become distant and cold. Did something happen yesterday that I don't know about? Because this all started this morning and don't even try to deny it, Nathan. I know something is wrong here and if you don't tell me..." Haley rambled before Nathan cut her off this time.

"If you would let me talk, maybe I could explain!" Nathan replied just as loudly.

There was silence for a second before Haley crossed her arms, urging Nathan to talk.

But nothing came out. He opened his mouth a few times but he didn't seem to find the right words.

"Nathan, just tell me what's going on", Haley said in a much softer voice than before.

"This is killing me! I thought we had become friends and now... just talk to me", Haley said, taking a step towards him. There were all kinds of different emotions in his eyes and Haley couldn't place all of them. There was guilt and anger but also something softer.

"Look," Nathan finally started.

"You know Lucas and I don't get along and I know that you haven't told him that we have been spending some time together lately. And that's fine. But I don't want you to risk your friendship with Lucas and I..." he stopped, not knowing how to say the rest of the words.

"Nathan, it's not your responsibility to take care of my friendship with Luke. It's really sweet of you, but there is more to this" It wasn't a question but a statement.

"When I am around you... It's just... I don't know what to say, Haley!" He exclaimed, raising his voice again. She could see that he was struggling to say it and not say it at the same time and that he was frustrated with himself.

"You drive me nuts, Haley! I never know what to say around you because I'm worried about your reaction. And when you're not around I am constantly thinking about you wishing I could talk to you some more or just look at you. And sometimes I think you might feel the same way about me but then I see you with Lucas and I'm not even sure if we can be friends, let alone..." Nathan exclaimed all at once and Haley wasn't sure he had planned to say all of that.

"How about you just use some words for once and just ASK me how I feel, Nathan? It's really not that hard and a much better option than to stop talking to me and putting up these stupid walls of yours! One minute I feel like this might be going somewhere and that you like me, too, and the next you're pushing me away.

And it's really none of your business if this affects... my friendship... with... Lu..."

Nathan's right hand had moved up to cup her cheek and Haley had lost her train of thought completely.

She had noticed the change in his eyes when she had mentioned her feelings for him. She didn't mean to say that but when she had realised what she had just admitted it was already out there. She had tried to cover it up by talking some more but the expression in his eyes had stayed the same. She looked up at him with anticipation showing clear on her face but she was also a little anxious.

After all, this was Nathan Scott! The guy she had hated ever since she had become friends with Lucas all those years ago. The guy who did all those awful things to Lucas.

But he was also the guy who had helped her down the tree and showed her this beautiful place. The one she was sure she could talk to for hours and never get bored. He made her feel special and happy just by being near her and made her heart jump every time their eyes met.

"What are you doing?" Haley asked so quietly, that she wasn't even sure he had heard her.

Haley had moved her hand to Nathan's chest without realising it. But as soon as she did, she started pulling away. Nathan had been following her gaze and noticing that she was about to pull away, he put his hand over hers, keeping it in place.

Haley turned her look from their hands back to his eyes and was melting under his gaze. Just then Nathan starting leaning down towards her.

A million thoughts started rushing through her head. What would Peyton say? And Brooke? And LUCAS! Lucas would hate her and never talk to her again, ever! And what would this even mean? Is this just a summer thing or would they stay together? What would everyone at school think about it? Was this even a summer thing or just a kiss?

Haley was getting tired of all the doubts running through her mind. For once, she was just going to shut her mind up and go with her heart.

She was about to stand up on her tiptoes when Nathan's lips finally met hers. The kiss was slow and tender and Haley let herself fall into Nathan.

And then he pulled away. Haley's mind started spinning again and made up all kinds of scenarios with what she might have done to make him pull away. But when she opened her eyes, he looked down at her with so many emotions in his eyes that she relaxed instantly.

His thumb started tracing small circles on her cheek and she realised that his eyes held a questioning look. He was making sure she was ok with this.

As soon as she had figured it out she stood up on her tiptoes and placed her lips back on his.

 **AN: Please review :)**


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